Best deck sealer?


Nick2cd

Recommended Posts

A great deal depends on where you live...

 

Our painting contractor imports Sikkens Cetol from a ‘less progressive’ part of the US...  We use between 12 – 16 gals every other year... In some places, you can get low-VOC versions of the same products --- but in many cases, these are only sold to painting contractors... Your best bet is calling a local painting contractor and see what he/she is using and where they get it...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A great deal depends on where you live...

 

Our painting contractor imports Sikkens Cetol from a ‘less progressive’ part of the US...  We use between 12 – 16 gals every other year... In some places, you can get low-VOC versions of the same products --- but in many cases, these are only sold to painting contractors... Your best bet is calling a local painting contractor and see what he/she is using and where they get it...

 

After years of frustration with other products, I finally used Sikkens Cetol last year on a small porch in my backyard.  It gets a TON of sunlight (basically all day in the summer) and takes a beating (I have a chlorinated pool, 2 kids, lots of friends who come over, etc.)   It's held up magnificently.  Looks like the day I applied it, and it's a 1 coat system, super easy to apply.  I used on front and side porches this year and expect it to hold up there as well.

 

I got it at my local hardware store with no issues, and I know they have it at my local Home Depot too.  Trip you're in Jersey right?  Have they banned VOC finishes there too?  I thought it was just Cali.  Brave new world I guess...

 

Anyway I highly recommend Sikkens.

 

Edit:  my deck is doug fir and I live in MA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You really want an oil based sealer/stain.  I know in some parts of the country it is hard to come by.  The water/acrylic/latex (whatever) products look like crap after a year or two.  They are basically thinned out paint and strart to peel pretty quickly.  You say you want a clear finish, which also implies you want a really high quality UV absorber.  Pigment finishes rely on the color to block UV rays, clear finishes need good UV protection.

 

 I just used Penofin Marine (natural) on an outdoor table and so far so good.   It is a penetrating oil, not a film, and needs to be reapplied every year or two.  But you can reapply with minimal sanding or scraping, a huge plus.  

 

Also, I haven't used Sikkens so don't have first hand experience with its application.  I do know that PPG recently rebranded the US consumer product from "Sikkens" to "Sikkens Pro-Luxe".  The Sikkens brand itself owned by Akzo Nobel, but the US consumer line of Sikkens was acquired by PPG (PPG bought Akzo Nobel's US coatings business) in April 2013. They say the product itself has not changed.  That being said, I believe the marine product carried by marine suppliers like Jamestown Distributors is the Akzo Nobel product.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In NJ, oil-based can only be sold to painting contractors -- and only for some applications and only low-VOC formulations. Sikkens makes a low-VOC Cetol (SRD/SE?), but my contractor imports the full deal from south of the Mason-Dixon Line... You have to look at the Cetol product line to see which is which...

 

 

Mike's idea of ordering marine coatings is also good. I get a lot of stuff from JD -- epoxy, varnish, bottom paint, topside coatings and the rest... Although I did have problems with a NJ ship-to address and some of the coatings I wanted last year... I think the computer people are catching-up and making it harder to directly import restricted coatings... JD has a Amazon Prime-like setup... It's around $100/year and shipments are free... If you order coatings and/or epoxy, you should bundle to spread the haz-mat fee over an entire order... Large hazmat items are not covered by their Prime -- I ordered a 5gal can of West 105 resin and the hazmat was about $50 by itself...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

+1 for Jamestown too.  Great supplier.

 

I bet there is money to be made setting up shop right on the border of all these restrictive states and selling all of the banned stuff.  Kind of like all the shopping centers that set up right on the NH/MA border to pull customers into zero sales tax areas.  All the big stores in Nashua are constantly packed.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

+1 for Jamestown too.  Great supplier.

 

I bet there is money to be made setting up shop right on the border of all these restrictive states and selling all of the banned stuff.  Kind of like all the shopping centers that set up right on the NH/MA border to pull customers into zero sales tax areas.  All the big stores in Nashua are constantly packed.  

 

just like all the gas stations, tobacco shops and strip clubs on the illinois/indiana border.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Sikkens Cetol lasts 8 to 10 years here on docks.  It's so high in VOC's that a day with a light breeze is the best time to apply.  I pressure wash, let dry really well-as in a good week of hot dry weather, and hit with a floor buffer and sanding screen (probably 120) before applying it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did the mahogany have a lot of tint or pigment to it? I was considering the cedar color

 

Yes - it's basically a translucent stain (not sure if that's the right word but that's what I'm calling it).  Here's the deck that I just did:

 

F3816A2E-476C-44A6-B1F8-76DE91CC3643_zps

 

It looks kind of crappy right now because the pollen is dropping around here so there is a thin layer of yellow on everything.  This is one coat (which is what they recommend) on fresh doug fir.  A lot of the boards had been rotted so I replaced everything and started fresh.  Here's a closer up pick after I tried to rinse some of the pollen off:

 

30838147-BF99-47E5-8A92-1E1D6CE1536B_zps

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes - it's basically a translucent stain (not sure if that's the right word but that's what I'm calling it).  Here's the deck that I just did:

 

 

 

It looks kind of crappy right now because the pollen is dropping around here so there is a thin layer of yellow on everything.  This is one coat (which is what they recommend) on fresh doug fir.  A lot of the boards had been rotted so I replaced everything and started fresh.  Here's a closer up pick after I tried to rinse some of the pollen off:

 

 

 

Nice looking deck .  Clear doug fir is one of my favorite species, it looks like your boards are all/mostly vertical grain.  Should hold up for a long time.  It is actually difficult to source that material here in the midwest.  It is not a stock item at homecenters or lumberyards that cater to contractors.  Being a softwood, it is also not a stock item at the hardwood dealers.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice looking deck .  Clear doug fir is one of my favorite species, it looks like your boards are all/mostly vertical grain.  Should hold up for a long time.  It is actually difficult to source that material here in the midwest.  It is not a stock item at homecenters or lumberyards that cater to contractors.  Being a softwood, it is also not a stock item at the hardwood dealers.  

 

Thanks!

 

Yeah oddly enough I got the boards at Home Depot.  I have another dealer that stocks VGDF decking that I usually buy from, but he's a bit more expensive.  But I happened to be at HD for something else and walked by the decking, saw this VGDF for much cheaper, and lo and behold the boards were straight!  My three year old daughter was with me and she had an awesome time "helping" daddy gather together 20 10' boards and "helping" daddy push the big cart into the parking lot.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Home Depot carries it in the Atlanta area, $45 gal or $211 for a 5. I think it's not stocked in stores but the page said free shipping to your store for pickup.

Yes, surprisingly, my local store has it in stock. I couldn't believe it. I'll be making a trip out this weekend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's really thin.  If you put it on with even a 3/8" nap roller, you'll lose a lot of it down the cracks. I use a thin finishing roller, slide it along a board lengthwise to let it run out, and then roll it around.  Our dock is a 32' square large basketweave pattern with 16' boards.  I'm not brushing that much on.

 

The last time it got applied to that dock I needed six gallons so bought one five gallon bucket and a gallon can.  Supposedly they were the same color, but the one gallon ended up significantly darker than the 5 gallon container.  Of course we used the 5 gallons to start with.   I had not had that problem before.  Next time I'll mix all I buy together to start with, even if it has the same batch number.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Who's Online   0 Members, 0 Anonymous, 36 Guests (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online
  • Forum Statistics

    31.2k
    Total Topics
    421.8k
    Total Posts
  • Member Statistics

    23,758
    Total Members
    3,644
    Most Online
    R Parekh
    Newest Member
    R Parekh
    Joined